Name: Train derailment, massive fire on bridge over Tempe Town Lake
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Train derailment, massive fire on bridge over Tempe Town Lake

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You are the owner of this article.Welcome,A dozen cars from another train derailed on the Salt River Bridger over Tempe Town Lake on June 26, a little less than a month before Wednesday's accident.[]TEMPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – A huge fire is burning on a train on a bridge over Tempe Town Lake. The fire was pumping thick black smoke into the air. That smoke plume was visible for miles.Union Pacific said as many as 10 train cars derailed at about 6:15 a.m. The south side of the bridge then collapsed and caught fire. A spokesman said the train crew was not hurt but one person at the park was treated for smoke inhalation. (Click video player below for Arizona's Family's first reports.)Union Pacific spokesman Tim McMahan, who said the train was en route to Phoenix from Tucson, explained that two of the three tanker cars on the ground under the bridge contained cyclohexanone. The third contained a rubber material. "None are reported leaking, and no tank cars were involved in the fire," he said. According to the&nbsp;,&nbsp;cyclohexanone is a colorless oily liquid that is both flammable and an irritant. It's mostly used for the production of nylon.The cars that burned for hours were carrying lumber, some of which fell into the lake.At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Tempe's Mayor said the leak is not going into the lake itself. He also said that the EPA is monitoring the air quality in the area, but there is no imminent risk.Video from CBS 5 Investigates producer Gilbert Zermeño, our first look at the conflagration, showed flames burning along the length of the train bridge, a portion of which had collapsed on the Tempe Beach Park side. (Click the video player below to watch.)The call was escalated to a third alarm, which means more resources from all over the Valley were assigned to it.Camille Kimball was riding her bike under the bridge just a moment before it collapsed. She said the noise of the train became deafening, and as she came off the bridge, she saw people with their phone cameras trained behind her."I turned around to look and got the fright of my life," she said. "Now there's fire pouring into the lake from the middle of the bridge. ... It looks like a scene from hell, truly. A scene from hell. ... The flames are intense and the sky is filled with black smoke." She described the experience as "surreal."Several witnesses compared the scene to something you might see in a movie.Helicopter pilot Bruce Haffner described the scene as "unbelievable." "It's such a catastrophe," he said. Haffner also said that helicopters were coming in to help fight the fire from the air and that air traffic controllers were having planes taking off from Sky Harbor International Airport move to the north, away from the huge smoke plume."We are directing aircraft north or south of the incident scene to minimize aircraft-noise distraction to fire crews," an FAA spokesman told Arizona's Family.Although planes are being diverted around the incident, things at Sky Harbor are running as usual. "At this time, there are no impacts to our operations," a spokesman said."It looks like a scene from hell, truly. A scene from hell," a woman who rode her bike under the train bridge merely moments before the collapse and fire told Arizona's Family.📃/►&nbsp;Wednesday's incident was the second time a Union Pacific train had derailed on the that bridge in a little less than a month.According to McMahan, 12 cars derailed on the afternoon of Friday, June 26. He said that derailments damage rail and bridge ties. The line back open and running less than 48 hours later. he did not provide any information about what might have caused that wreck.It's not clear what caused Wednesday's derailment and subsequent bridge collapse and fire, but according to , the bridges are visually inspected every 30 days.&nbsp;McMahan said the bridge's annual inspection was on July 9. Arizona's Family is working on getting that report.Just two days before that inspection -- the evening of July 7 -- the City of Tempe tweeted about a two-day road closure for We don't know yet what that work entailed.Rio Salado Parkway will be closed in both directions between Lakeside Drive and Ash Avenue tomorrow and Thursday, July 7-8, from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. for emergency railroad work. — City of Tempe, AZ (@Tempegov) Investigators with the are on their way to Tempe to look into the derailment and subsequent fire.Hours after the incident, the Tempe Police Department put out a tweet asking anyone "who witnessed or many have any information about the train derailment and fire" to call its non-emergency line. is asking anyone who witnessed or may have any information about the train derailment and fire to contact our non-emergency number 480-350-8311.— Tempe Police (@TempePolice) and Tempe Fire are on scene of a train derailment and large fire over Tempe Town Lake. Several roads are restricted near Tempe Town Lake and west of downtown Tempe. Please avoid the area. — Tempe Police (@TempePolice) Valley Metro tweeted that light rail service would be delayed in the area. Buses were being deployed to moved passengers around the fire.Service Alert-Update: Due to a heavy rail fire in Tempe, Valley Metro is terminating service eastbound at 38th St/Wash and Smith Martin/Apache Blvd in Tempe. Buses are being assembled to transport passengers around the incident. — Valley Metro (@valleymetro) The Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway was closed in both directions between State Route 143 and Loop 101 for several hours. The freeway has since reopened.Tempe Beach Park and the surrounding area, however, is closed.Update: all closures and restrictions remain in effect at Tempe Town Lake due to the train derailment.— City of Tempe, AZ (@Tempegov) The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality says it is monitoring air quality in the area, and while there is "no imminent risk to public health," people who live in the area should stay inside and everyone else should stay away.According to the , the Salt River Union Pacific Bridge, which runs parallel to the current Mill Avenue Bridge, was first built in 1912 after residents of the farming community grew tired of relying on covered wagon to transport product between Phoenix and Mesa. It has survived floods that destroyed three other truss bridges in the same location and is considered both the oldest and longest standing railroad bridge in the Valley.“The railroad is what solidifies Tempe’s status, an absolutely critical economic connection,” said historian John Southard with the Tempe Historic Preservation office.The bridge is recognized for its design by Arizona State University engineering professors. “We approached this bridge from a historical perspective, we didn’t have any concerns, really, about the safety and adequacy of the bridge,” said ASU bridge expert Dr. Tony Lamanna. He also says that the bridge’s infrastructure is highly dependent on the maintenance of the bridge.Since Union Pacific never applied for National Historic Register, the Historic Preservation Commission doesn’t have a say in its repair or placement.-&gt;&gt;&nbsp;.&nbsp;Copyright 2020 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.© Copyright 2020 (A Meredith Corporation Station), 5555 N. Seventh Avenue Phoenix, AZ&nbsp;| &nbsp;| &nbsp;|Powered by from .

You are the owner of this article.Welcome,A dozen cars from another train derailed on the Salt River Bridger over Tempe Town Lake on June 26, a little less than a month before Wednesday's accident.[]TEMPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – A huge fire is burning on a train on a bridge over Tempe Town Lake. The fire was pumping thick black smoke into the air. That smoke plume was visible for miles.Union Pacific said as many as 10 train cars derailed at about 6:15 a.m. The south side of the bridge then collapsed and caught fire. A spokesman said the train crew was not hurt but one person at the park was...

Train derailment, massive fire on bridge over Tempe Town Lake

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